Architecture

I find an interesting parallel here to the ideas James Scott proposes in Seeing Like a State (which we covered back in RE #4): a top-down, central planning-style of design can't effectively predict the diversity of user needs. It turns out, contra to the "expert architect", that the users know best what they need from their space. And often even... See more

Broken Angel House Cobble Hill, Brooklyn illegally modified and expanded by eccentric artists and self-taught architects Arthur and Cynthia Wood, condemned after a fire in 2009, and torn down to make way for luxury condos in 2014 https://t.co/hdxwOTEQrW

Alexander is inspired by how design occurs in the natural world. "Things that are good have a certain kind of structure," he told me. "You can't get that structure except dynamically. Period. In nature you've got continuous very-small-feedback-loop adaptation going on, which is why things get to be harmonious. That's why they have the qualities

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